Notable Rule 5 Draft Eligibles

Below is a list of guys who i think are eligible after cruising the blog-o-sphere and may be able to stick with a big league team:

LHP Scott Lewis (Indians): Starter
LHP John Gaub (Cubs): Short Reliever
LHP Ben Jukich (Reds): Short Reliever
LHP Macay McBride (Tigers): Short Reliever
LHP Kyle Bloom (Pirates): LOOGY
LHP Beau Jones (Rangers): LOOGY

RHP Deunte Heath (Braves): Short Reliever
RHP Jim Hoey (Orioles): Short Reliever
RHP Ryan Reid (Rays): Short Reliever

C Chris Robinson (Cubs): Backup, hit .326 at Iowa this past year
C Elio Sarmiento (Rangers): Backup

INF Pete Orr: Utility

OF Matt Young (Braves): 4th OF
OF Jeff Fiorentino (Orioles): 4th OF
OF Drew Locke (Astros): Platoon OF/1B
OF Colin Curtis (Yankees): 4th OF

Baseball America had more names on their list with some reports from scouts, which I would take more then this.

If you take someone in the Rule 5 Draft, at least my philosophy, is that they can fill a niche. If I was running a team, I would be looking for possible LOOGY's, speedsters to serve as pinch-runners, utility infielders or platoon bats. Odds are you are not going to find many starters.

Of course, another route to go is to select a younger guy you like and then attempt to negotiate a trade to keep them in the system.